Written Answers Monday 14 March 2011

Scottish Executive

2014 Commonwealth Games

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will report on the progress made in identifying and supporting women trafficked for sex during the construction phase and the games fortnight by the multi-agency group that considers security issues for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government is working closely with the police and other enforcement agencies on security planning for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. This includes potential issues which may arise not just during games time but from the build programme itself.

  With construction work already underway, there have been no trafficking issues identified. At this time, there is no intelligence to indicate human trafficking and vice will be an issue linked to the games. Should any instances arise, partner agencies will co-ordinate positive enforcement action and provide support to victims.

2014 Commonwealth Games

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will report on the progress made by the Blue Blindfold awareness programme run by Strathclyde Police and the UK Human Trafficking Centre at the 2014 Commonwealth Games site.

Kenny MacAskill: A human trafficking awareness session was delivered to key contractors when construction commenced on the National Indoor Sports Arena. This process will be repeated at all other games related construction sites as building commences.

2014 Commonwealth Games

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, given that the Metropolitan Police has invested £600,000 in a specialist team in the five Olympic boroughs to combat an expected surge in trafficking, whether specific resources have been allocated to the identification and support of women trafficked to Glasgow for the 2014 Commonwealth Games during the construction phase and games fortnight.

Kenny MacAskill: The Strathclyde Police 2014 Games Planning Team includes officers that are responsible for planning the security surrounding the construction programme, and their remit includes considering the potential for human trafficking. These officers can seek support from specialists at the Strathclyde Police Vice and Anti-Trafficking Unit and at the Scottish Crime and Drugs Enforcement Agency.

  There is currently no intelligence indicating that either human trafficking or vice crime will be particularly associated with the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Should any instances arise, partner agencies will co-ordinate positive enforcement action and provide support to victims.

Air Services

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it is making in identifying options regarding an air route development fund.

Keith Brown: The European Commission’s 2005 guidelines on start-up aid to airlines remain in force and have prevented us from providing a successor to the Route Development Fund. The Commission is reviewing these guidelines and will consult publicly on any proposed changes. We continue actively to support air route development through direct engagement with airlines and the provision of market and route analysis.

Alcohol

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many off-licences in the Lothians region were found to have sold alcohol to people under 18 in 2009-10, broken down by local authority area.

Kenny MacAskill: The number of offences recorded by the police, in which a licensed person has sold alcohol to a person under 18, by local authority, 2009-10.

  

Local Authority Area
2009-10


East Lothian
5


Edinburgh City
27


Midlothian
4


Scottish Borders
15


West Lothian
14


Lothian and Borders
65



  Data on recorded crime is based on an aggregate return and cannot be interrogated on details of the perpetrator. It is therefore not possible to break the above data down further to separately identify off-licenses.

Alcohol Misuse

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-38846 by Nicola Sturgeon on 26 January 2011, how many acute occupied bed days in NHS Tayside were attributed to patients with an alcohol-related diagnosis in the last year for which information is available.

Shona Robison: Information on acute occupied bed days is recorded on the SMR01 dataset. SMR01 has space for up to six diagnosis codes to be recorded, a main diagnosis and up to five secondary diagnoses.

  The table shows the total number of bed days of patients treated in acute hospitals in NHS Tayside for alcohol related conditions, recorded in any diagnosis position in 2009-10; the most recent year for which information is available.

  Total Number of Bed Days Associated with Alcohol Misuse - from General Acute Hospitals in NHS Tayside: 2009-10P

  

 
2009-10P


NHS Tayside
13,547



  PProvisional.

  Source: ISD Scotland (SMR01).

Animal Welfare

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions there have been for illegal snaring in 2010-11.

Roseanna Cunningham: There have been 17 snaring cases reported to the Procurator Fiscal Service from April 2010 to date.

  Information on the number of prosecutions for illegal snaring for 2010-11 will not be available until publication of the Criminal Proceedings in Scotland, 2010-11 Statistical Bulletin. This is due to be published in December 2011.

  The dates of all Scottish Government Official and National Statistics publications are pre-announced, and the up to date list of future publications can be found at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Search/Forthcoming.

Animal Welfare

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions there have been for wildlife crime in 2010-11.

Roseanna Cunningham: Forty-six prosecutions have been raised from April 2010 to date.

Animal Welfare

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many police wildlife crime coordinators there are.

Roseanna Cunningham: There are currently eight wildlife crime coordinators in Scotland, one in each police force.

Autism

Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) individuals and (b) organisations are represented on the Autistic Spectrum Disorder Reference Group.

Shona Robison: Information on the membership of the Autistic Spectrum Disorder Reference Group is available on the Scottish Government website at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/care/adult-care-and-support/learning-disability/ASDRef.

Autism

Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive on what criteria members of the Autistic Spectrum Disorder Reference Group are selected and who (a) sets the criteria and (b) selects the membership.

Shona Robison: The original membership of the Public Health Institute Scotland (PHIS) Group which led the first world leading needs assessment of people on the autism spectrum evolved to become the national Autistic Spectrum Disorder Reference Group. Members of the group were selected as they were regarded as leaders in the field from practice and academia.

  The membership is currently being reviewed by the group in conjunction with the Scottish Government to ensure that the needs of people with autism are being addressed. Examples of recent additions include representatives from the COSLA and the Association for the Directors of Social Work (ADSW) as it is recognised that local authorities play a vital role in enhancing the quality of life for people with autism.

  Scottish Ministers give final approval of new nominations.

Autism

Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what budget has been allocated to the Autistic Spectrum Disorder Reference Group; for what it has been specified; how it will be monitored, and by whom.

Shona Robison: In this financial year, a total of £250,000 has been allocated to NHS Lothian, in partnership with others, to address the challenge of existing waiting lists. This is a priority which I have identified and I will be monitoring progress.

  In addition, £2.6 million will be available in 2011-12 to take forward the work to implement the recommendations of the draft Scottish Autism Strategy to improve access to better, and more sustainable, services for people with autism.

  A further allocation of £3.6 million will be available in future years, subject to the next Scottish Spending Review.

Breastfeeding

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of children was exclusively breastfed at six to eight weeks in each community health partnership (CHP) area in the last year for which information is available and what the 2010-11 HEAT target is for such percentage for the NHS board in which the CHP is located.

Shona Robison: Exclusive breastfeeding rates at the six to eight week review by CHP area are published on the ISD Scotland website at:

  http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/1914.html.

  The latest available statistics are for children born in financial year 2009-10. Data is not available for NHS Grampian and NHS Orkney and the constituent CHP areas as these Boards had not implemented the Child Health Pre-School system, from which these statistics are derived, for the time period reported.

  The individual NHS board HEAT targets for the percentage of children exclusively breastfed at six to eight weeks are published on the Scotland Performs website at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/scotPerforms/partnerstories/NHSScotlandperformance/breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what resources it makes available in the (a) Dundee Community Health Partnership and (b) Angus Community Health Partnership area to develop networks for supporting mothers who breastfeed.

Shona Robison: Funding was allocated to all health boards from 2008-11 as part of CEL 36 (2008) which aimed to improve the nutrition of women of childbearing age, pregnant women and children under five in disadvantaged areas, including increasing exclusive breastfeeding rates. It was for individual NHS boards to decide how this funding should be used throughout their area to support this work.

  Total funding of £1,297,723 was allocated to NHS Tayside as part of CEL36 (2008). A proportion of this funding has been used to develop trained breastfeeding support workers to work in the most deprived areas of each Community Health Partnership, to establish a breastfeeding clinic to support women with complex breastfeeding challenges and to establish a breastfeeding café.

Breastfeeding

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on promoting breastfeeding in each of the last three years.

Shona Robison: Details are as follows:

  

2009-10
2010-11


£177,743.42
£152,878.93



  Details of funding in 2008-09 is currently being collated and I will write to the member as soon as the information is available and a copy will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 52547).

  This funding has been used to develop the national Breastfeeding Social Marketing Campaigns in 2009 and 2011 and assist NHS boards in promoting breastfeeding at events during National Breastfeeding Awareness Week.

  Additional funding was also made available to NHS boards through CEL36 (2008) which was used to support the delivery of the HEAT target on breastfeeding. This may have included local social marketing activity.

Bridges

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Aberdeen City Council regarding the proposed third crossing over the River Don in Aberdeen.

Keith Brown: There have been no discussions between Scottish Ministers or officials and Aberdeen City Council specifically regarding the proposed Third Don Crossing. My predecessor met NESTRANS to discuss other matters on 12 March 2010. The Third Don Crossing was referred to as part of another issue but not discussed in detail.

  A letter has recently been received from Aberdeen City Council regarding the possibility of including the construction of the Third Don Crossing in the Non Profit Distributing (NPD) model form of contract which is being considered for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route. A response will be issued shortly.

Bridges

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are sufficient grounds to call in the proposal for a third crossing over the River Don in Aberdeen and whether it will make a statement on the matter.

John Swinney: No. As formal planning consent has been granted by Aberdeen City Council, Scottish Ministers have no locus to intervene but I am satisfied that there were no issues of national significance raised by this application that would have justified it being determined at a national level.

British Sign Language

Bill Wilson (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have (a) sat and (b) passed exams for qualifications in British Sign Language in each year since 2007.

Alex Neil: The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally.

  There are many providers who offer various levels of British Sign Language (BSL) training in a variety of settings in Scotland, and these organisations and individuals have different accreditation bodies, such as the Scottish Qualifications Authority, Signature and the British Deaf Association. The examination statistics are not collected by the Scottish Government, however, this information would be held by these accrediting bodies.

  The Scottish Government has funded a training initiative through Heriot-Watt University for Deaf BSL tutors to teach BSL. Since 2007, 18 deaf tutors have undertaken these courses: 10 graduated from the first Training of Trainers (ToTs) course in 2007, and a further eight are currently completing and due to graduate from the second ToTs intake in 2011.

  The Scottish Government has also funded the "Building Bridges" project, a work-based route to BSL interpreter training in Scotland through the Scottish Association of Sign Language Interpreters (SASLI). It is anticipated that their 10 apprentices on this programme will graduate at the end of March 2011.

Cancer

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many women have presented for a smear test for cervical cancer in each of the last five years.

Shona Robison: Data on the number of cervical screening tests processed by the Scottish Cervical Screening Programme for each of the last five years can be found on the Information Services Division website at:

  http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/servlet/FileBuffer?namedFile=Annual_workload_data.xls&pContentDispositionType=inline.

  The most recent year for which numbers are available is the year ending 31 March 2010.

Cancer

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many women have been vaccinated against human papilloma virus (HPV), broken down by age, in each of the last five years.

Shona Robison: The HPV Immunisation Programme in Scotland started on 1 September 2008.

  The latest statistics showing uptake rates for girls eligible for vaccination in year one (September 2008 to August 2009) and year two (September 2009 to August 2010) of the programme are published on the ISD Scotland website at http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/5921.html. Information is broken down by school year of those vaccinated and by NHS board area.

  Interim statistics on uptake by girls eligible for vaccination in year three of the programme (September 2010 to August 2011) will be published on the ISD Scotland website shortly.

Cancer

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what changes have occurred in the prevalence of human papilloma virus (HPV) genotypes in the last five years and which genotypes are the most prevalent.

Shona Robison: Extensive human papilloma virus (HPV) type-specific testing is a relatively recent development. As yet there is no data to allow any changes over the past five years to be evaluated. However, in many countries, including Scotland, the normal prevalence of HPV in unvaccinated populations has been estimated and published within the scientific literature.

  The prevalence of HPV varies by age and the prevalence and distribution of genotypes varies by severity of HPV-related disease.

  In a study of cervical cancers diagnosed in Scotland, HPV was detected in 88% of invasive cervical cancers tested. Of these: 64% were type 16; 20% type 18; 6.5% type 45; 5% type 31; 3% type 33. All other specific types were detected in less than 1% of samples, aside from type 6 which was detected in 1.2%, but in all cases was as a co-infection with another High Risk HPV type. Overall 10% of HPV infections detected were within a multiple infection.

  In unvaccinated populations of women with normal cervical cytology overall prevalence of HPV varies according to age. In a large study in the North of England HPV prevalence with High Risk (oncogenic) types of HPV varied from 22.3% in 20 to 29 year olds to 5.8% in 50 to 64 year olds.

  With respect to HPV genotypes - a meta-analysis of studies from around the world compared HPV types in 1 million women with normal cytological findings. This included 21 studies from northern Europe, eight of which were from the UK. The findings showed that overall prevalence of HPV among 97,242 Northern European women of all ages was 10%. Within Europe the most prevalent subtypes were 16; 31, 18, 39, (33,66), 6, (45, 52, 51,58). (Brackets indicate HPV types with equal prevalence.)

  Within Scotland a study of 3,444 women attending screening in one NHS board found that among 3089 women of all ages (<25 to >55) with normal cytology 12.7% were positive for HPV. 8.3% had a High Risk type identified; 6.5% a Low Risk type. 4.5% of women with normal cervical cytology were infected with multiple HPV types. The most prevalent HPV types among these women with normal cytology were: 16; (18,51), 31, 52, 45, 73, 59, 56, 33, 58, 39 with other types each identified in less than 1% of samples. (Brackets indicate HPV types with equal prevalence).

Cancer

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to raise awareness of the limits of protection offered by the human papilloma virus (HPV) immunisation programme and to encourage regular cervical smear testing.

Shona Robison: A range of information materials are available to support the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination programme. Consistent messages are provided across these materials that the vaccination will only protect against two strains of the virus and that girls should attend for cervical screening when they reach the appropriate age.

  Every girl who attends for vaccination will be provided with a leaflet before she is vaccinated. These leaflets, which are also available on the vaccination programme website say:

  http://www.fightcervicalcancer.org.uk.

  "The HPV vaccine is designed to protect against the two types of HPV that can cause 70% of the cases of cervical cancer.

  "The vaccine does not protect you against all other types of HPV, so you will still need to start going for regular cervical screening when you’re 20 years old. The combination of immunisation and cervical screening offers the best possible protection against cervical cancer."

  In addition to this, the information materials available to support the Cervical Cancer Screening Programme also make clear that girls who have had the HPV vaccination programme still need to attend for screening. These are available at:

  http://www.healthscotland.com/topics/health-topics/screening/cervical.aspx.

Cancer

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of women has presented for a cervical cancer smear test when called in each of the last five years, broken down by age group.

Shona Robison: Data on the percentage uptake of females who had a record of a previous cervical screening test taken within the last 3.3/5.5 years, broken down by age group can be found on the Information Services Division website at:

  http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/servlet/FileBuffer?namedFile=Annual_uptake_data.xls&pContentDispositionType=inline.

  The most recent year for which numbers are available is the financial year ending 31 March 2010.

Cancer

Michael Matheson (Falkirk West) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what costs are associated with performing a colposcopy and how many were performed in the last year for which information is available.

Nicola Sturgeon: This information is not collected centrally. Information detailing the number of colposcopy’s undertaken and the associated costs may be available at NHS board level.

Cancer

Michael Matheson (Falkirk West) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what costs were associated with biopsy for and treatment of cervical cancer in the last year for which information is available.

Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is not centrally available. Information detailing the costs of these biopsies for treatment of cervical cancer may be available at NHS board level.

Census

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive who it has contracted to deliver the 2011 census and at what cost.

John Swinney: The responsibility for delivering the 2011 census lies with the Registrar General for Scotland. The total cost of the census in Scotland, over its 10 year cycle, was estimated at £65.17 million in Scotland’s Census 2011: A Government Statement which was laid before the Parliament in December 2008.

Childcare

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in increasing childcare provision.

Adam Ingram: The Scottish Government seeks to ensure access to high quality, affordable childcare services which match children's needs and parents working patterns.

  In Scotland, local authorities take the lead, in conjunction with their local partners, in planning and supporting childcare in their local areas.

Childcare

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many childcare places have been available in each of the last three years for which information is available.

Adam Ingram: Information on the number of available childcare places is not collected centrally.

  Information on the number of registrations in childcare centres is available from the Scottish Government’s Pre-School and Childcare Census 2010.

  Table 9 shows the number of registrations, by age, in all childcare centres for the years January 2008, 2009 and 2010, and is available at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/09/28130623/13.

Children with Special Needs

Anne McLaughlin (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what provision is made for children with additional support needs in Gaelic medium education, taking into account the specific needs of bilingual children.

Michael Russell: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all children and young people with additional support needs receive the education and support they require to achieve their maximum potential in life and legislation has been put in place to support this policy.

  The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 places a duty on local authorities to meet the additional support needs for all children for whose school education they are responsible, including children in Gaelic medium education, and to tailor provision according to their individual needs. The 2004 act provides the legal framework which underpins the system for identifying and addressing the additional support needs of children and young people who face a barrier, or barriers, to learning. It aims to ensure that all children and young people are provided with the necessary support to help them work towards achieving their full potential. It also promotes collaborative working among all those supporting children and young people and sets out parents' rights within the system.

  The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2009, which came into force on 14 November 2010, amended and strengthened the 2004 act and clarifies, among other things, the definition of additional support by specifying that it is not limited to support provided in an educational environment.

  The provision for children with additional support needs in Gaelic medium education is matter for local authorities. A number of authorities have employed Gaelic medium classroom assistants who can assist with any additional support needed in the classroom.

Climate Change

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what mechanism it will develop to ensure sufficient scrutiny of local housing strategies to ensure compliance with the emissions reduction targets set out in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009.

Alex Neil: A joint review process is in place for Local Housing Strategies, involving Scottish Government and local government officials. Each strategy is reviewed against a number of criteria, including the extent to which fuel poverty, energy efficiency and climate change have been addressed. We expect most local authorities will publish the review of their Local Housing Strategy on their websites, and we are discussing detailed publication arrangements with COSLA. To strengthen climate change coverage in Local Housing Strategies and further help local authorities meet the duties they have as public bodies under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 the Scottish Government and COSLA will shortly be issuing additional guidance.

Climate Change

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the report required under section 64(6) of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 setting out the measures that it will take to reduce emissions from living accommodation and when.

Alex Neil: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-39825 on 9 March 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Crime

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents of petrol being stolen from cars have been reported in each of the last three years, broken down by police force area.

Kenny MacAskill: The information requested is not held centrally.

Dentistry

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when the new NHS dental centre planned for Oban will be (a) constructed and (b) in use.

Nicola Sturgeon: Until an outline and full business case have been approved for this project, firm dates cannot be given on when construction work will commence on the Oban Dental Project and when it will come into use. However, NHS Highland has earmarked £2.8 million of public funding for this project under the previously announced Primary and Community Care Premises Modernisation Programme.

Domestic Abuse

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive in which sheriffdoms the domestic abuse toolkit is in use.

Fergus Ewing: The domestic abuse toolkit was developed to aid Sheriffs Principal and local criminal justice partners begin the task of developing a specialist approach to domestic abuse cases in their area. Learning from the Glasgow domestic abuse court pilot, the toolkit provides a non-prescriptive framework to help shape local responses. All 11 local criminal justice boards in each of Scotland’s six sheriffdoms are familiar with the toolkit and have used it to help develop their action plans.

Domestic Abuse

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive in which sheriffdoms there is ongoing training in the use of the domestic abuse toolkit.

Fergus Ewing: The domestic abuse toolkit is a framework developed to aid Sheriffs Principal and local criminal justice partners shape how they handle domestic abuse cases in their area. The toolkit therefore helps inform local practice and training, and as such, we would not expect there to be ongoing training on its particular use.

  In each of Scotland’s six sheriffdoms, police officers and legal staff receive training on the joint domestic abuse protocol which sets out to identify best practice and obtain consistency of approach in the investigation, reporting and prosecution of cases. In addition, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service provide specialist domestic abuse training for legal staff, Victims Information and Advice staff and precognoscers.

Domestic Abuse

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it receives regular reports on the use of the domestic abuse toolkit.

Fergus Ewing: There is no formal reporting mechanism, but the Scottish Government maintains an awareness of progress in each area through contact with Summary Justice Reform Co-ordinators.

Domestic Abuse

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what evaluation there has been of the use of the domestic abuse toolkit.

Fergus Ewing: There has been no formal evaluation of the domestic abuse toolkit itself, which in part is a product of the Glasgow domestic abuse court pilot. However, the Scottish Government maintains an awareness of progress at local level through contact with Summary Justice Reform Co-ordinators.

Drug Misuse

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many arrests for drug-related offences have been made in the Lothian and Borders Police force area in each year since 2007-08.

Kenny MacAskill: Information on the number of arrests made by the police is not held centrally, only the number of crimes recorded. The following table shows the number of drug-related crimes and offences recorded by Lothian and Borders Police Force from 2007-08 to 2009-10:

  

Description
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10


Non-sexual crimes of violence:
 
 
 


Drugging
15
8
10


Other Crimes:
 
 
 


Illegal importation of drugs
4
6
10


Production, manufacture or cultivation of drugs
112
111
165


Supply, possession with intent to supply of drugs
2,221
2,128
1,785


Possession of drugs
3,501
3,730
3,651


Drugs, money laundering related offences
0
0
0


Drugs, other offences
61
99
40


Total crimes and offences
5,914
6,082
5,661



  The common definition, used within police forces, is that a crime of drugging is committed when drugs are surreptitiously or dishonestly administered with the intent of incapacitating the victim.

  There are three further crimes/offences for which drugs may be a contributory factor causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs, driving a motor vehicle while unfit through drink or drugs and being in charge of motor vehicle while unfit through drink or drugs. We are not able to identify the number of such crimes/offences specifically relating to drugs and as such have not included these figures in the table.

Economy

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the national reform programme.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government has regular discussions with the UK Government on the UK National Reform Programme, most recently at the Joint Ministerial Committee (Europe) on 14 March 2011. Scottish Government officials are in regular contact with their Whitehall equivalents on the drafting of the UK National Reform Programme document.

Education

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason there is no national strategy for equal access to counselling in schools.

Adam Ingram: There is no national strategy for equal access to counselling in schools as there is already a comprehensive framework in place to make sure learners with additional support needs including social, emotional or mental health needs, short or long-term, access appropriate support in partnership with relevant agencies, under the Additional Support for Learning (Scotland) Act 2004 as amended.

  Under Curriculum for Excellence, every learner is entitled to support, from universal support which starts with ethos, climate and relationships within a learning environment which is inclusive and fair, to targeted support. Support and health and wellbeing are responsibilities for all staff. All learners should have frequent and regular opportunities to discuss learning with a key adult who has a holistic overview of progress and personal development and all staff are responsible for establishing open, positive and supportive relationships across whole school communities where learners feel listened to and secure in their ability to discuss sensitive aspects of their lives. Support depends upon personalised planning; an understanding of anti-discriminatory, anti bullying and child protection policies, and knowledge of steps to be taken in any given situation, including appropriate referral and multi agency delivery where appropriate, to meet individual needs. This may include counselling in school if appropriate.

Education

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) guidance or (b) regulations there are on how school budgets should be spent.

Michael Russell: There are no regulations but guidelines were issued to local authorities in February 2006 setting out the principles of Devolved School Management (DSM) which aimed to bring between 80% and 90% of school budgets under the control of headteachers. In November 2010 the Scottish Government announced a consultative review, seeking proposals for new and more flexible DSM guidance, by the end of this month.

Education

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the uptake of modern language learning was in (a) 2009 and (b) 2010.

Michael Russell: The following table shows Modern Languages Qualification Entries (Presentations) from 2009 and 2010 in publicly-funded schools in Scotland for pupils in Secondary 4 and Secondary 5/6.

  

 
2009
2010


Number of entries for: Access 3, Standard Grade, Intermediate 1 and 2 
48,031
46,050


Entry rate for Access 3, Standard Grade and Intermediate 1 and 2 per 1,000 pupils in S4
822
804 


Number of entries for Highers
6,233
6,262


Higher entry rate per 1,000 pupils in S5/6
91
87


Numbers of entries for Advanced Highers
762
824


Advanced Higher entry rate per 1,000 pupils in S6
27
27

Emergency Services

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Scottish Ambulance Service ambulances have been stationed in Perth and Kinross in each of the last five years, broken down by location.

Nicola Sturgeon: This is a matter for the Scottish Ambulance Service. The information requested is not held centrally.

Employment

David Whitton (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the level of demand is for flexible training opportunities for 2011-12.

Angela Constance: Flexible training opportunities were announced last year to meet the needs of small businesses. Skills Development Scotland has advised us that as they have promoted the scheme interest and uptake has increased. We have subsequently increased the number of places next year from 5,000 to 7,000 to ensure that we can meet the expected demand from business.

Employment

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of female employees in the public sector is in a managerial position.

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of female employees in the private sector is in a managerial position.

John Swinney: The latest estimates of employment by gender, occupation and public/private sector classification are available from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) carried out by the Office for National Statistics.

  The latest LFS (October to December 2010) uses Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) 2000. There are nine major occupational groups in the top tier of the classification. Major group 1 contains Managers and Senior Officials.

  The following table shows the percentage of females in SOC 2000 major occupational group 1 (Managers and Senior Officials) by public/private sector classification in Scotland.

  Percentage of female employees in SOC 2000 major occupational group 1 (Managers and Senior Officials) by public/private sector classification, Scotland October to December 2010

  

Major Occupational Group (SOC 2000)
Public Sector
Private Sector


1 Managers and Senior Officials
5.9%
14.8%



  Source: Labour Force Survey October to December 2010, Office for National Statistics.

  Notes:

  1. Percentages given in the table reflect number of female employees in major occupational group 1 in the public/private sector expressed as percentage of the total number of female employees in the public/private sector as estimated by the Labour Force Survey.

  2. Public/private sector classification is self-reported by survey respondents.

Energy Efficiency

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has considered or will consider mechanisms to replace the duty on local authorities to provide energy efficiency under the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995 with a duty to set targets for and report on carbon emissions reduction and fuel poverty eradication in all housing in their area.

Alex Neil: The question of what should replace the reporting duties of local authorities in relation to action to improve the energy efficiency of housing stock in their area under the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995 (HECA) was considered as part of the consultation on the Energy Efficiency Action Plan. This reflected the new context following introduction of the Climate Change Act and the need significantly to increase impetus and focus in delivering energy efficiency. Most respondents said they did not want HECA to remain as a distinct duty on local councils, and half of the respondents supported moves to address energy efficiency in housing through Local Housing Strategies (LHSs). Existing guidance on Local Housing Strategies includes advice on setting targets for the eradication of fuel poverty. In line with the response to the consultation on the future of HECA, since 2007 we have been developing our strategic approach, while aiming to reduce the burden of reporting on local councils.

  We will shortly publish, jointly with COSLA, supplementary guidance (Supplementary Guidance on Addressing Climate Change in Local Housing Strategies) which will further support councils in taking action on energy efficiency, assisting them to fulfil the duties they have as public bodies under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009. This guidance follows HECA in placing on councils the responsibility for setting targets and monitoring progress at local authority level, but goes further by encouraging them to link action on energy efficiency with related strategies to improve the quality of housing stock in their area, and by providing them with advice on the range of powers, duties, resources and information at their disposal to help them to do this.

Energy Efficiency

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of respondents to the consultation, Conserve and Save: Consultation on the Energy Efficiency Action Plan for Scotland , felt that it was important that local authorities retain a duty to promote energy efficiency for all housing in their area.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government carried out a consultation on Conserve and Save: Consultation on the Energy Efficiency Action Plan for Scotland in late 2009. The analysis of the consultation responses were published in April 2010 on the Scottish Government website at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/04/15164620/0.

  Annex 1, question 28 provides details to the consultation question on whether local authorities should retain a duty to promote energy efficiency for housing in their area.

  Half of all respondents favoured the alternative mechanism of incorporation into the Local Housing Strategy and Single Outcome Agreement processes. 21% supported the retention of a HECA duty while 29% made other suggestions or comments.

Energy Efficiency

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in developing a strategy to improve the private rented sector, the Scottish Private Rented Sector Strategy Group will consider energy efficiency.

Alex Neil: The Scottish Private Rented Sector Strategy Group considered this issue and acknowledged that there is a need to improve energy efficiency across all sectors including the private rented sector. It concluded that regulation of energy efficiency standards in the private rented sector should be looked at alongside the owner occupier sector and this was reflected in its final consultation recommendations report published in December 2009.

  Regulation will be pursued using the powers available under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 and a report will be published by the end of March 2011 setting out when Scottish ministers intend to make provision in respect of various sections in the act.

  The Scottish Government will also continue to work with Energy Saving Trust to encourage voluntary action by landlords to improve energy efficiency measures.

Energy Efficiency

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what average standard homes will need to reach by 2020 to meet its climate change and fuel poverty targets.

Alex Neil: The Scottish Government’s draft Report on Proposals and Policies sets out how its emission reduction targets can be met each year to 2022, including the expected contribution from homes and communities. These proposals and policies do not centre on the achievement of an average standard in all homes. Rather our approach focuses on promoting the most cost-effective and beneficial approaches to meeting the emissions required in each sector. Similarly, our policy to tackle fuel poverty does not centre on the achievement of an average standard in all Scotland’s housing.

Energy Efficiency

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether its home loans scheme will be rolled out across Scotland.

Jim Mather: The Energy Saving Scotland home loans pathfinder scheme was available across Scotland and home loans have continued to be available in Home Insulation Scheme and Universal Home Insulation Scheme areas.

  Following the completion of the home loans evaluation and in the context of the Feed-In Tariff and Renewable Heat Incentive, we have just announced a further round of home loans funding to support micro renewables installations. More information on this scheme is available from the Energy Saving Scotland advice network who can be contacted on 0800 512 012.

Enterprise

Joe FitzPatrick (Dundee West) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many business properties currently receive support from the Small Business Bonus Scheme.

Jim Mather: Official statistics showing take-up of the Small Business Bonus Scheme will be published later in 2011.

Enterprise

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the Intellectual Assets Centre’s budget has been reduced from £1.35 million in 2010-11 to £720,000 for 2011-12.

Jim Mather: The planned budget allocations for the Intellectual Asset Centre are an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise in partnership with Highlands and Islands Enterprise. I have asked the Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise to provide a response to the member’s question.

Enterprise

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Intellectual Assets Centre’s staff will be subject to compulsory redundancy.

Jim Mather: The issue of compulsory redundancy for Intellectual Asset Centre staff is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise in partnership with Highlands and Islands Enterprise. I have asked the Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise to provide a response to the member’s question.

Enterprise

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason it is proposing to relocate the Intellectual Assets Centre.

Jim Mather: The location for the delivery of the work carried out by the Intellectual Asset Centre is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise in partnership with Highlands and Islands Enterprise. I have asked the Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise to provide a response to the member’s question.

Enterprise

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Intellectual Assets Centre is a fully owned subsidiary of Scottish Enterprise.

Jim Mather: Scottish Intellectual Management Limited (SIAM) is a Company Limited by Guarantee whose core purpose is to operate and manage the Intellectual Assets Centre. SIAM is a subsidiary of Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Enterprise

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much the Intellectual Assets Centre has contributed to the economy in each of the last four years.

Jim Mather: The assessment and evaluation of the contribution of the Intellectual Assets Centre to the Scottish economy in each of the last four years is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise in partnership with Highlands and Islands Enterprise. I have asked the Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise to provide a response to the member’s question.

Enterprise

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many small and medium-sized enterprises applied for funding for eco-innovation projects under the 2010 Competitiveness and Innovation Programme.

Roseanna Cunningham: Data from UK Government indicates that, in total, 68 UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) applied for funding for eco-innovation projects under the European 2010 Competitiveness and Innovation Programme. No data on the number of Scottish SMEs is held as information is not broken down below EU member state level.

  To encourage further engagement with the programme over the next few months Enterprise Europe Scotland plan to raise awareness of eco-innovation opportunities through information days and capacity building sessions to businesses across a range of sectors.

Enterprise

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many VAT-registered businesses were set up in Dundee in the last year for which information is available.

Jim Mather: Business start-ups are officially measured using VAT/PAYE registrations, which are released annually by the Office for National Statistics.

  The most recent data shows that there were 325 VAT/PAYE registrations in Dundee in 2009. This is equivalent to 27 registrations per 10,000 resident adults (16+).

European Funding

David Whitton (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many flexible training opportunities have been funded through the European Social Fund in 2010-11; how many were applied for, and how many people have completed their training.

David Whitton (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been applied for from the European Social Fund to pay for flexible training places for 2011-12.

Angela Constance: The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. I will ask the Chief Executive of Skills Development Scotland to write to the member with the information requested.

Finance

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions it has used the increase in the de minimis level of state aid since its introduction.

Jim Mather: The industrial de minimis threshold was increased from €100,000 to €200,000 over a three year, rolling fiscal period under EC Regulation No 1998/2007. The Scottish Government has used the increased threshold to provide direct funding to beneficiaries on 60 occasions.

  The agricultural de minimis threshold was increased from €3,000 to €7,500 over a three year, rolling fiscal period under EC Regulation No 1535/2007. The Scottish Government has used the increased threshold to provide direct funding to beneficiaries on 32 occasions.

  The fisheries de minimis threshold was increased from €3,000 to €30,000 over a three year, rolling fiscal period under EC Regulation No 875/2007. The Scottish Government has not used the increased threshold to provide direct funding to beneficiaries to date.

Forestry

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what income it expects will be made from developments on the Forestry Commission Scotland estates.

Roseanna Cunningham: The expected income to Forestry Commission Scotland by 2020 is £30 million per year from the development of renewable energy facilities on the national forest estate.

Forestry

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3F-2930 by Alex Salmond on 24 February 2011 ( Official Report , c.33513), how it will fund planting the 100 million trees and what the proposed rate of planting is for each of the next five years.

Roseanna Cunningham: Our woodland creation targets are mainly achieved through grant support under the Scotland Rural Development Programme together with the Forest Leasing Scheme and some direct planting undertaken by Forestry Commission Scotland. The 2011-12 Draft Budget provides sufficient funding to meet 10,000 hectares of woodland creation and we have actually increased grants available for forestry by £8.9 million to £36 million.

  Our policy is to continue to allow sufficient funding to achieve 10,000 hectares each year, which will deliver the 100 million trees target by 2015.

Forth Crossing

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the issue of the BP Forties pipeline system was not raised during consideration of the Forth Crossing Act 2011.

Keith Brown: The Forth Replacement Crossing Team has been in lengthy and detailed engagement with BP and the worldwide insurance market seeking the best possible solution for the public interest. The meeting with the Finance Committee on 22 February 2011 was the first opportunity to speak meaningfully with the Parliament on the issue.

Forth Crossing

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the contingency liability for BP has been capped at £100 million if the Forties pipeline system is damaged during the construction of the Forth Replacement Crossing.

Keith Brown: The sum is typical of these types of arrangements in the Oil and Gas industry and was arrived at following negotiation with BP. The number represents the maximum potential liability under the Agreement and BP will bear any losses which exceed that amount.

Forth Crossing

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what the actual cost to BP will be if the Forties pipeline system is damaged during construction of the Forth Replacement Crossing.

Keith Brown: Financial information relating to those costs is commercially confidential and cannot be released. In any event, the actual costs cannot be determined in the abstract and will depend on the particular facts and circumstances.

Forth Crossing

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what level of fire risk is posed by construction work on the Forth Replacement Crossing being carried out close to the BP Forties pipeline system.

Keith Brown: The fire risk to the Forties Pipeline has been assessed as minimal in relation to the Forth Replacement Crossing works.

Forth Crossing

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether an automatic shutdown is in place in the event of the BP Forties pipeline system being damaged during construction of the Forth Replacement Crossing and, if so, how long it takes to operate.

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how long it will take to shut down the BP Forties pipeline system manually if it is damaged during construction of the Forth Replacement Crossing.

Keith Brown: On detection of a loss of flow, pipeline pumps will automatically shutdown and isolation valves will close. A manual shutdown of the pipeline may also be initiated following detection of a leak at site. Shutdown would take approximately two minutes.

Forth Crossing

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are insurance policies or contingency liabilities in place for local residents and businesses for any damage incurred to them in the event of the BP Forties pipeline system being damaged during construction of the Forth Replacement Crossing.

Keith Brown: The Project Insurance Programme includes provision for third party damage. There are no Third Party Contingent Liabilities.

Forth Crossing

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Transport Scotland has a business continuity programme in place to manage the risks in the event of the BP Forties pipeline system being damaged during construction of the Forth Replacement Crossing.

Keith Brown: Transport Scotland will continue to operate in the event of any damage to the pipeline.

Forth Crossing

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in relation to the BP Forties pipeline system, Transport Scotland investigated whether it would be safer to move the Southern Approach Road to link directly from the new Forth Bridge on the west side of Dundas Castle to the M9 at Winchburgh and, if so, for what reason the report of that investigation was not made available as part of the environmental statement for the Forth Crossing Act 2011.

Keith Brown: During 2008, Transport Scotland considered a number of alternative options for the southern connecting roads. An assessment of the options and the reasoning for their rejection is provided in the DMRB Stage 2 Corridor Report. The location of the BP pipeline was considered in this assessment. This is outwith the remit of the Environmental Statement.

Forth Crossing

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans have been put in place to carry out routine or other maintenance to the BP Forties pipeline system where the Southern Approach Road crosses it; who will bear the cost, and whether a risk assessment has been carried out.

Keith Brown: The works undertaken during the Forth Replacement Crossing works will ensure further routine and other maintenance on the pipeline does not disrupt the Southern Approach Roads. Any future work on the pipeline after completion of the road will be carried out within BP’s risk assessments and at BP’s cost.

Forth Crossing

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how the £100 million contingency liability cap to BP in relation to any damage caused to the Forties pipeline system during construction of the Forth Replacement Crossing has been calculated and for what reason this was not included in the environmental statement for the Forth Crossing Act 2011.

Keith Brown: The cap was set following negotiation with BP. The Environmental Statement does include the cost of mitigation measures.

Forth Crossing

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what volume of oil would be spilt if the BP Forties pipeline system were ruptured during construction of the Forth Replacement Crossing.

Keith Brown: While the volume has been calculated for designing suitable mitigation measures it would be inappropriate to release this information.

Forth Crossing

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has undertaken an assessment of the geographical area likely to be affected by any damage to the BP Forties pipeline system during construction of the Forth Replacement Crossing.

Keith Brown: Yes.

Forth Crossing

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what BP’s estimate is of lost revenue in the event of damage to the BP Forties pipeline system during construction of the Forth Replacement Crossing.

Keith Brown: Financial information relating to those costs is commercially confidential and cannot be released.

Health

Charlie Gordon (Glasgow Cathcart) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what training arrangements there are for (a) dentists and (b) anaesthetists who might require to sign certificates authorising treatment under general anaesthetic on behalf of adults with incapacity.

Shona Robison: Medical practitioners, and this of course includes anaesthetists, have been assessing capacity for the purposes of Part 5 (Medical treatment) of the Adults With Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 (the 2000 Act) since that act came into force. Anaesthetists have training on assessing capacity as part of their training to become a doctor so are not specifically required under the 2000 Act to undertake additional training, in terms of signing medical treatment certificates. In practice, it is more likely that an anaesthetist would be working under the authorisation of another medical practitioner in terms of section 47(3) of the 2000 Act, which gives power to any other person who is authorised by the person on whom authority has been conferred to carry out medical treatment and who is acting on his behalf under his/her instructions or with his/her approval or agreement.

  When the 2000 Act was amended in 2006 to extend the scope of the range of healthcare professionals who can issue a section 47 certificate of incapacity, to include certain other healthcare professionals such as dentists, the need for additional training for these professionals was recognised. Scottish Ministers were therefore given powers to prescribe requirements that would need to be met by all of these additional healthcare professionals before they could issue certificates. The Adults with Incapacity (Requirements for Signing Medical Treatment Certificates (Scotland) Regulations 2007 therefore require other health professionals such as dentists to have completed and passed the course entitled Adults with Incapacity: Part 5 Amendment – Assessment of Incapacity for Health Professionals. This course was piloted by Edinburgh’s Napier University, who hope, dependent on demand, to run this course again 16 May 2011.

Health

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made in carrying out epidemiological research on foetal alcohol spectrum disorders.

Shona Robison: A four-year surveillance research project of the epidemiology of Foetal Alcohol Syndrome in Scotland, for which the Scottish Government is providing funding, began on 1 April 2010. The findings and analysis of the results will be published in a scientific paper at the end of the project in 2014. We would anticipate that the results will also be presented to the Scottish Paediatric Society, the British Association of Perinatal Medicine, the Neonatal Society, and the British Association for Community Child Health, the Royal College of Paediatrics Research and the European Society of Paediatric Research.

Health

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of measles have been confirmed in the NHS Tayside area in each of the last three years for which information is available.

Shona Robison: The number of laboratory confirmed measles cases in the NHS Tayside area in each of the last three years is as follows:

  Laboratory Confirmed Measles Cases

  

 
Tayside
All of Scotland^


2008
1
53*


2009
2
17


2010
0
11



  Notes:

  *A further 18 probable and possible cases were identified as part of this outbreak in 2008 (no further cases in Tayside).

  ^ NHS Tayside cases have been included in the all Scotland figure.

Health

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the impact of knife crime on NHS services since May 2007.

Nicola Sturgeon: No information is held on the impact of knife crime on NHS services.

Higher Education

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many full-time university students domiciled in the (a) Dundee City and (b) Angus council areas have received bursaries in each of the last three years for which information is available.

Michael Russell: Non-repayable award support is available from Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS). Data collection for 2010-11 is not yet complete. The following table therefore shows the numbers of full-time students studying at higher education institutions, who received non-repayable awards by SAAS in academic sessions 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10.

  Number of full-time students at higher education institutions, domiciled in the Dundee City and Angus council areas who have received non-repayable awards from SAAS, 2007-08 to 2009-10:

  

 
Dundee City
Angus Council


2007-08
1,360
1,020


2008-09
1,375
895


2009-10
1,420
900



  Source: SAAS management information.

  Notes:

  1. Student numbers in this table have been rounded up or down to the nearest 5 (e.g. 1, 2 round to 0; 3, 4 round to 5).

  2. Students with postcodes which are missing or which do not match with those of the local authority breakdown show are not included in the figures above.

Housing

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people live in overcrowded dwellings, broken down by local authority area.

Alex Neil: The following table shows the estimated number of people living in overcrowded dwellings broken down by local authority area. The definition of overcrowding is based on the bedroom standard. The data are taken from the Scottish House Condition Survey covering the period 2007-2009.

  Number of People Living in Overcrowded Dwellings 2007-2009

  

Local Authority
Number


Aberdeen City
9,000


Aberdeenshire
12,000


Angus
2,000


Argyll and Bute
7,000


Clackmannanshire
2,000


Dumfries and Galloway
3,000


Dundee City
7,000


East Ayrshire
8,000


East Dunbartonshire
3,000


East Lothian
3,000


East Renfrewshire
4,000


City of Edinburgh
23,000


Eilean Siar
1,000


Falkirk
8,000


Fife
11,000


Glasgow City
50,000


Highland
11,000


Inverclyde
5,000


Midlothian
6,000


Moray
4,000


North Ayrshire
8,000


North Lanarkshire
30,000


Orkney Islands
1,000


Perth and Kinross
6,000


Renfrewshire
4,000


Scottish Borders
3,000


Shetland Islands
2,000


South Ayrshire
9,000


South Lanarkshire
16,000


Stirling
3,000


West Dunbartonshire
6,000


West Lothian
8,000


Scotland
274,000



  Notes:

  1. Data are rounded to the nearest thousand.

  2. The total may not equal the sum of the individual parts due to rounding.

  3. The data does not include communal establishments.

Housing

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made to improve the rights of (a) mobile and (b) residential park home owners.

John Swinney: In order to improve the rights and security of park home residents I have launched a public consultation on proposals to update the terms in agreements between residents and park owners. The consultation will run until 18 March 2011 and includes a draft Scottish Statutory Instrument which will be progressed following the consultation. This will update Schedule 1 to the Mobile Homes Act 1983 which sets out the rights of mobile homes residents by way of a list of contractual terms that it implies into agreements.

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average length of time was following sentencing before offenders commenced (a) community sentence, (b) probation, (c) supervised attendance and (d) drug treatment and testing orders in 2008-09, broken down by local authority area.

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average length of time was following sentencing before offenders commenced (a) community sentence, (b) probation, (c) supervised attendance and (d) drug treatment and testing orders in 2009-10, broken down by local authority area.

Kenny MacAskill: Data on average commencement times for community sentences are not collected. The Scottish Government has published an audit of speed and immediacy for community service based on a snapshot of performance of community service in November 2008. The findings of the audit are available at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Justice/public-safety/offender-management/offender/community/examples/6822/cs-audit-2008.

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussion it has had with the UK Government since May 2007 on how prisoner voting might impact on the operation of the Scottish Prison Service.

Kenny MacAskill: Discussions took place in December 2010 prior to the UK Government’s announcement of its proposal that convicted prisoners serving sentences of four years or more would remain unable to vote. The UK Government undertook to consult the Scottish Government about the practical implications of its proposals to change the franchise.

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-33605 by Kenny MacAskill on 20 May 2010, when it will next publish an audit of community service.

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of offenders sentenced to a work placement as part of a community service order commenced actual work on the placement within (a) 7, (b) 8 to 14, (c) 15 to 21, (d) 22 to 31, (e) 31 to 62, (f) 63 to 93 or (g) longer than 93 days in 2010, broken down by local authority area.

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of offenders sentenced to a work placement as part of a community service order completed the placement within (a) 7, (b) 8 to 14, (c) 15 to 21, (d) 22 to 31, (e) 31 to 62, (f) 63 to 93 or (g) longer than 93 days in 2010, broken down by local authority area.

Kenny MacAskill: The next audit of community service will be based on a snapshot of performance of community service during November 2010. The data is currently being compiled and the audit is expected to be published in May 2011.

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the ruling by the Appeal Court on the case of Morris Petch and Robert Foye v Her Majesty’s Advocate and whether it plans action.

Kenny MacAskill: The judgment of an Appeal Court comprising a bench of 7 Judges was issued on Tuesday 1 March 2011 in the cases of Foye and Petch appealing against the "punishment part" of their discretionary life sentences. The punishment part of a sentence is the part that a prisoner must serve before they first become eligible to apply for parole.

  The judgement concerned the correct interpretation of section 2(2)(aa) of the Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993. This provision was introduced into the 1993 Act by section 1 of the Convention Rights (Compliance) (Scotland) Act 2001. Section 2(2) (aa) governs how judges should set the punishment part of a discretionary life sentence and Orders for Lifelong Restriction.

  The effect of the judgement is that section 2(2)(aa) has been interpreted as operating in a way that will mean that a discretionary life prisoner and Order for Lifelong Restriction prisoner may receive a punishment part of their sentence below the level that they would receive if they had received a fixed length sentence for the same offence. In his opinion within the Appeal Court judgement, Lord Justice General states that:

  "… I have… come, with regret, to the view that, however unsatisfactory it may appear as a matter of comparative justice, Parliament has given statutory effect to an arrangement under which an indeterminate prisoner will, or at least may, become first eligible for consideration for parole at an earlier stage in his sentence than an equivalent determinate prisoner".

  The judgement applies only in cases where prisoners have received a discretionary life sentence or have been made subject to an Order for Lifelong Restriction. The judgement does not affect any convicted murderers as they receive a mandatory life sentence.

  As a result of the judgement, some prisoners may be able to apply for parole earlier than had previously been the case, but the parole board will still be required to consider whether the public needs to be protected from the prisoner. If the parole board considers that the public should be protected, the prisoner will remain in prison.

  With the detail of the judgement now available, we are considering what primary legislative change may be needed to address the issues raised by the judgement. Such legislative change would be for the administration in place after the May elections to decide upon.

Justice

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of offenders sentenced to a work placement as part of a community service order in the Lothians region have commenced actual work on the placement within (a) 7, (b) 8 to 14, (c) 15 to 21, (d) 22 to 31, (e) 31 to 62, (f) 63 to 93 or (g) longer than 93 days in each of the last five years.

Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government has published an audit of speed and immediacy for community service based on a snapshot of performance of community service in November 2008 and 2009. Data on community service during November 2010 is currently being compiled and publication is planned for May 2011.

  The findings of the audit for 2008 are available at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Justice/public-safety/offender-management/offender/community/examples/6822/cs-audit-2008 

  The findings of the audit for 2009 are available at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Justice/public-safety/offender-management/offender/community/examples/6822/2009-cs-audit

Maritime History

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-36829 by Fiona Hyslop on 7 October 2010, whether a timetable has now been agreed for return of HMS Carrick, or City of Adelaide, to Australia.

Ms Fiona Hyslop: My officials have maintained close contact with the South Australian group backing the City of Adelaide’s move. We’re all looking forward to the ship’s presentation as a celebration of the shared culture heritage of Scotland and Australia. Following a thorough technical appraisal and the granting of listed building consent by North Ayrshire Council, the move is on course for June or July of this year and we continue to support our Australian partners in achieving this.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what is being done to ensure that all school pupils have access to counselling in schools.

Adam Ingram: It is for local authorities and NHS boards to determine and design services in response to local priorities and clinical need.

  Under the Additional Support for Learning (Scotland) Act 2004 as amended, education authorities are required to identify, meet and keep under review additional support needs of all children for whose education they are responsible, including those with social, emotional and mental health difficulties, and to tailor provision according to individual needs. Appropriate agencies, which include NHS boards, are required to assist a local authority in the exercise of any of its functions under the act. In addition, under Curriculum for Excellence, all learners are entitled to support. Again, support should be tailored to individual needs and circumstances, and delivered in partnership with relevant agencies, rather than through one type of universal provision such as counselling.

  We have been working with NHS boards to ensure that there is a mental health link worker or properly articulated link system between schools and child and adolescent mental health (CAMH) specialists and the development of a web-based toolkit http://www.handsonscotland.co.uk aimed at improving the confidence of teachers and others in responding to the mental health needs of children.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that counselling in schools is integrated as a support system into the referral pathway to access psychological therapies.

Adam Ingram: Under Curriculum for Excellence, every learner is entitled to support, from universal support which starts with ethos, climate and relationships within a learning environment which is inclusive and fair, to targeted support. Support and health and wellbeing are responsibilities for all staff. All learners should have frequent and regular opportunities to discuss learning with a key adult who has a holistic overview of progress and personal development and all staff are responsible for establishing open, positive and supportive relationships across whole school communities where learners feel listened to and secure in their ability to discuss sensitive aspects of their lives. Support depends upon personalised planning and knowledge of steps to be taken in any given situation, including appropriate referral and multi agency delivery where appropriate, to meet individual needs. This may include counselling in school if appropriate.

  In support of identifying and referring on pupils with mental health needs, NHS boards should make available a named health link person to every school, or a properly articulated link system between schools and Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH) specialists.

  Integrated care pathways seek to ensure that local multi-agency agreements are in place to join up all the available help. NHS Quality Improvement Scotland have developed standards for doing this in Scotland which are currently out for consultation across all agencies.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what is being done to identify and support schoolchildren known to be self-harming.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Government, through the implementation of the 2005 Children and Young People’s Mental Health Framework for Promotion, Prevention and Care have been encouraging NHS boards and partners to improve the networks between professionals within the children’s workforce, and to improve the skills of the non specialist workforce (such as school based professionals) in identifying a range of children’s metal health problems, and in responding appropriately in offering and securing the right help.

  We have been working with NHS boards to ensure that there is a mental health link worker or properly articulated link system between schools and child and adolescent mental health (CAMH) specialists. In support of this a web based toolkit http://www.handsonscotland.co.uk aimed at improving the confidence of teachers and others in responding to the mental health needs of children has been developed.

  We have supported NHS QIS in the development of draft standards for integrated care pathways which are currently out for consultation. Implementation of the standards will ensure that local arrangements are in place which support school based professional to better recognise when children are in need of specialist help and to refer on quickly after these children have been identified.

  We are investing an additional £12.5 million in specialist CAMHS in the three years from 2009. This has grown the specialist workforce by 25% between the end of 2008 and the end of 2010. This is enabling specialist CAMH services to respond quicker to children who need the service.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in implementing the guidance identified in the 2005 report, The Mental Health of Children and Young People: A Framework for Promotion, Prevention, and Care.

Shona Robison: Since The Mental Health of Children and Young People: A framework for Promotion, Prevention and Care was published, delivery partners in NHS boards, local authorities and the voluntary sector have made significant progress.

  Awareness of child and adolescent mental health in schools has been improved by, amongst other things, a Scottish Government commitment encouraging the establishment of explicit links between schools and child and adolescent mental health specialists as well as the development of a web-based toolkit aimed at improving the confidence of teachers and others in responding to the mental health needs of children.

  Our work with NHS boards and their partners in implementing the framework highlighted a need for further expansion of the workforce capacity and are addressing this. We are allocating £6.5 million over three years to increase the number of psychologists working in specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) with £1 million having been allocated in 2009-10, £2 million being allocated in 2010-11 and £3.5 million being allocated in 2011-12.

  We are also making available £2 million each year to help NHS services enhance intensive community services (Tier 3 and 4) and to help reduce the need for children and young people to be admitted to hospital. This investment will also support our referral to treatment waiting time target for specialist CAMHS which means by March 2013 no one will wait longer 26 weeks from referral to treatment.

NHS Equipment

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time was to be issued with a wheelchair in each of the last 12 months, broken down by NHS board.

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time was for a short-term wheelchair loan in each of the last 12 months, broken down by NHS board.

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are waiting to be assessed for a wheelchair, broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: This is a matter for the NHS. The information requested is not held centrally.

NHS Expenditure

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the expenditure on hospital drugs in NHS Tayside (a) was in 2009-10 and (b) is anticipated to be in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12.

Nicola Sturgeon: In 2009-10, NHS Tayside’s expenditure on hospital drugs was £27.9 million. There is no information yet available for anticipated expenditure in 2010-11 and 2011-12.

NHS Finance

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when NHS boards will be told how much will be allocated to them to fund the transfer of prison healthcare.

Nicola Sturgeon: The prisoner healthcare transfer is scheduled to be implemented during the second half of financial year 2011-12. We expect to advise boards of specific allocations for prisoner primary healthcare in the early part of financial year 2011-12.

NHS Staff

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) pre-registration nurse and (b) midwifery intake training places there have been at the University of Dundee in each of the last three years.

Michael Russell: Of those students enrolled on pre-registration courses at the University of Dundee that led to eligibility to practice with a health or social care or veterinary regulatory body, 1,215 were enrolled in nursing courses in 2007-08, 1,075 in 2008-09 and 1,310 in 2009-10. In addition, there were 65, 70 and 75 enrolments on pre-registration midwifery courses in 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 respectively. For data protection purposes the figures above have been rounded to the nearest five.

NHS Staff

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what resources NHS Education for Scotland has transferred to each NHS board to fund trainee doctors’ salaries.

NicolaSturgeon: The following table shows the payments that have been made by NHS Education for Scotland (NES) to NHS boards to fund trainee doctors’ salaries in the period April 2010 to February 2011. These figures vary from month to month depending on rotations and exclude general practioner specialty training (GPSTs) in their periods in practice when NES pays salaries directly to the trainees.

  April 2010 to February 2011

  

NHS Board
Fellows
Fixed Term Specialty Training Appointments (FTSTA)
Foundation Year 1 (FY1)
Foundation Year (FY2)
General Practioner (GP)
Special Registrar
Specialty Training (ST)
Total


Borders
31,182
 
372,240
247,192
 
 
1,976,414
2,627,028


Forth Valley*
 
9,525
1,045,656
893,262
 
 
4,499,103
6,447,546


Highland
182,108
 
735,456
825,846
 
 
3,309,602
5,053,012


Lothian*
 
190,500
3,325,344
4,661,536
 
 
25,999,537
34,176,917


Ayrshire and Arran*
18,319
 
943,008
1,423,602
 
 
6,286,126
8,671,055


Dumfries and Galloway
 
 
446,688
556,182
 
 
2,185,787
3,188,657


Fife*
 
 
918,192
834,273
 
 
5,502,062
7,254,527


Grampian*
 
15,875
2,527,860
2,067,985
 
 
13,205,066
17,816,786


Greater Glasgow and Clyde*
 
278,874
5,750,544
7,188,233
 
 
47,093,902
60,311,553


Lanarkshire*
 
 
1,513,776
2,008,435
 
 
9,315,000
12,837,211


National Services Scotland*
 
 
 
 
 
 
79,394
79,394


Orkney
40,400
 
 
 
 
 
 
40,400


Shetland*
 
 
24,816
61,798
 
 
154,572
241,186


Tayside*
 
 
2,083,545
2,869,111
213,063
64,666
12,344,320
17,574,705


Western Isles
 
 
49,632
123,596
 
 
193,215
366,443



  *Note: Excludes payments for general practioner (GP) trainees when in practice as payment is made through NES GP Payroll.

  Under the reshaping the medical workforce policy it has been agreed that salaries for training posts which have been disestablished as part of the project will be returned to NHSScotland boards to help to fund trained doctors to replace trainees. In the financial year 2010-11 NES has transferred a total of £682,692 from the NES baseline to NHS boards baseline for disestablished posts, although a number of these will be for Fixed Term Specialty Training Appointment (FTSTA) posts rather than specialty training (ST).

NHS Staff

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of decisions that have made by regional medical workforce groups that have resulted in NHS boards losing trainee input and, if so, which (a) NHS boards and (b) posts were affected.

Nicola Sturgeon: The National Reshaping the Medical Workforce Project Board, after extensive consultations, made recommendations to me about reductions in specialty trainee intake numbers for 2010 and 2011. A reshaping Working Group has been set up to help boards plan to reach their agreed target training establishments for each specialty and to track which posts are lost and what is put in their place. Boards which lose trainee input will receive the salary for the post to invest in replacement.

NHS Staff

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether compensation is provided to NHS boards that lose trainee input as a result of decisions by regional medical workforce groups.

Nicola Sturgeon: In any cases where boards have had trainee reductions due to disestablishment, the base salary for the post has been returned to the board. There are, of course, other trainee movements that are dictated by training requirements and there have always been movements between boards.

NHS Staff

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the regional medical workforce group in the NHS Fife area made decisions that resulted in the loss of trainee doctor input on maintaining the accident and emergency rota and, if so, whether it has issued guidance and consulted as a result.

Nicola Sturgeon: NHS Fife made the decision to provide a minor injuries service at Victoria Hospital during out of hours periods in the interests of ensuring patient safety, avoiding the uncertainty involved in the previous contingency arrangements about when and from where full emergency services would be provided, and to establish the new single site working patterns that will be required when emergency services move to Victoria Hospital in early 2012 after completion of the major building project. The earlier problems were not caused by withdrawal of training numbers but by recruitment issues and gaps in rotas/lack of locums.

NHS Staff

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many trainee doctor posts it plans to disestablish in (a) 2011, (b) 2012, (c) 2013, (d) 2014, and (e) 2015 at (i) first year level 1, (ii) first year level 2 and (iii) Certificate of Completion of Training level.

Nicola Sturgeon: There are no plans to disestablish posts at first or second year level. For 2011 the planned reduction in Specialty Training posts is 49. Reductions in future years will depend upon the rate at which current trainees complete training and will be in line with Scotland's needs. There will be further consultation before any future reductions are announced.

NHS Staff

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the minutes of the project board of the Health Workforce Programme Board will be made public.

Nicola Sturgeon: The next meeting of the Reshaping the Medical Workforce Project board will be on 17 March 2011. I will arrange for the minutes of that meeting and all future meetings to be placed on the SPICe website.

NHS Staff

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the timetable is for negotiations on NHSScotland Management Steering Group’s mixed economy for doctors.

Nicola Sturgeon: A number of meetings have been held between the Management Steering Group and the British Medical Association, the most recent on 8 March 2011. There is a commitment to discussions on both sides but no timetable as such has been agreed. Discussions will be on-going.

National Health Service

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what monitoring arrangements are in place in respect of the £70 million Change Fund.

Shona Robison: All partnerships have now submitted local Change Plans to the Scottish Government. Before funds can be released, the Ministerial Strategic Group on Health and Community Care will consider plans at its meeting on 15 March 2011. We will write to partnerships shortly thereafter.

  The Joint Improvement Team will provide ongoing support to partnerships as they move to implement their change plans.

National Health Service

Willie Coffey (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS prescription pre-payment certificates have been purchased in each year since 2007-08, broken down by NHS board area.

Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-39338 on 24 February 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Nursing

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many pre-registration student nurse and midwifery intake training places there will be at each higher education institution in 2011-12, also broken down by (a) adult nursing, (b) mental health nursing, (c) learning disability nursing, (d) children’s nursing and (e) midwifery.

Nicola Sturgeon: Pre-registration student nurse and midwifery programme training places for 2011-12 are as detailed in the following table:

  

 
University of Dundee
Glasgow Caledonian University
Edinburgh Napier University
Robert Gordon University
University of Stirling
University of the West of Scotland


Adult 
291
308
368
182
235
534


Child
32
60
75
36
0
0


Mental Health
56
60
60
30
72
121


Learning Disability 
0
30
30
0
0
0


Midwifery
11
11
20
13
14
31


Total 2011-12 intakes.
390
469
553
261
321
686

Planning

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what level of committed grid investment there is and planned grid investment it envisages over the next 10 years, broken down by (a) year, (b) project and (c) investor.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government works to identify and deliver the reinforcement and further development of Scotland’s grid network that will connect and transport Scotland’s energy potential, deliver a low carbon generating mix and ensure security of future energy supply.

  Our Second National Planning Framework highlights a range of energy generation, infrastructure and grid developments of national importance to Scotland. Proactive use of our powers on spatial onshore and offshore planning and consenting has resulted in a step change in planning, consenting and developing Scotland’s energy future.

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/07/02105627/0.

  We work closely with UK, EU Governments, the GB system regulator Ofgem and transmission system operators in a number of strategic groupings envisaging future gird network at UK and EU level; including the Electricity Networks Strategy Group on future onshore and offshore GB reinforcement, and EU level groupings on future interconnected grid development in the Irish and North Seas.

  The Scottish Government does not hold detailed information on levels of committed and planned grid investment. This is a regulated activity by Ofgem and the three transmission system operators (National Grid Electricity Transmission Limited, Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission Limited and Scottish Power Transmission Limited). Decisions on specific grid projects and investment plans are part of this regulated process.

  The transmission system operators are responsible for developing their networks in line with their licence obligations. The revenue network companies can earn in doing so is determined by the regulatory "price control" process. This process provides the companies with future revenue levels and incentives to take forward efficient investment and running their systems.

  The transmission system operators develop projects to upgrade and reinforce transmission infrastructure within their area based on their assessment on what is required to run their network in an efficient manner. They submit these proposals to Ofgem for assessment and funding approval. Ofgem considers cost, and other factors such as need, for the electricity networks investment proposals put forward by network companies.

  The current transmission price control process (a Retail Price Index based process) runs from 2007-12. In that period Ofgem has agreed the transmission system operators can invest £3.8 billion in grid and network development. Detail is at:

  http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Networks/Trans/Archive/TPCR4/Pages/TPCR4.aspx.

  In addition, on 25 January 2011 Ofgem also announced a £95 million investment package over the next two years to increase the capacity of Scotland’s power networks. Detail can be found at:

  http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Pages/MoreInformation.aspx?file=ScotlandUpgrade25012011.pdf&refer=Media/PressRel.

  This price control period has been extended to 2013 as Ofgem transitions to an output performance-based approach to regulate energy networks. This RIIO model (Revenue = Incentives + Innovation + Outputs), covering eight year periods, will set regulatory price controls beyond 2013.

  The two Scottish transmission licensees are required by their licence obligations to assist National Grid, as System Operators of the National Electricity Transmission System, in preparing detail on the timing and scope of planned grid investment (as opposed to funding). Specific detail is available in the resulting "Seven Year Statement" at http://www.nationalgrid.com/uk/Electricity/SYS/current/.

Planning

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will call in the planning application for a waste-to-energy plant at Dovesdale Farm in South Lanarkshire.

Keith Brown: No. As formal planning consent has been granted by South Lanarkshire Council, Scottish ministers have no locus to intervene but I am satisfied that there were no issues of national significance raised by this application that would have justified it being determined at a national level.

Planning

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many objection letters its Energy Consents Unit has received in relation to Forth Energy’s proposals for a biomass power station at Dundee and, of those, how many have been published on the relevant website.

Jim Mather: To date, the Energy Consents and Deployment Unit (ECDU) have received 36 consultation responses from a variety of organisations with an interest in the development. These responses are all available on the Scottish Government website. The ECDU have also received 3,292 representations from members of the public. These are not published on the Scottish Government website to protect the identities of individuals.

Planning

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has acknowledged receipt of every objection letter that its Energy Consents Unit has received in relation to Forth Energy’s proposals for a biomass power station at Dundee.

Jim Mather: There is no requirement under legislation to acknowledge, either in writing or electronically, representations received.

  Due to the excessive cost, both in postage and in staff time, it is no longer the policy of the Energy Consents and Deployment Unit (ECDU) to respond in writing to representations received. Should the representation have been submitted by email, to the email address stated in the press notices, dundeebiomass@scotland.gsi.gov.uk, the author will receive an automatic acknowledgement. All representations received are collated and logged and form part of the final determination process for the application.

Planning

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason an invalid email address was given on the Energy Consents Unit website for objections to be made to Forth Energy’s proposals for a biomass power station at Dundee and what steps it took to rectify this problem.

Jim Mather: Press notices were placed in the Scotsman on 17 August 2010 and in the Dundee Courier and Edinburgh Gazette on 17 August 2010 and 24 August 2010 advising members of the public of the submission of the application. These notices advised members of the public to submit representations to energyconsents@scotland.gsi.gov.uk , which is the enquiries email address for the Energy Consents and Deployment Unit (ECDU). The second press notices for this development were placed in The Scotsman on 9 November 2010 and in The Courier and Edinburgh Gazette on 9 November 2010 and 16 November 2010. These notices advised members of the public to submit representations to the dedicated Dundee Biomass email address dundeebiomass@scotland.gsi.gov.uk , which had been implemented to deal with the level of representations being received. The biomass section of the ECDU website quoted the dedicated email address as the point of contact during the consultation. The ECDU enquiries email address is quoted elsewhere on the website as general point of contact, hence no amendment or correction was required.

  All representations received to either email addresses have been collated and logged.

Planning

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will reconsider the consultation process on Forth Energy’s proposals for a biomass power station at Dundee given that many objections have not been acknowledged due to an invalid email address.

Jim Mather: A decision was taken within the Energy Consents and Deployment Unit (ECDU) at the beginning of October 2010 to cease acknowledging representations in writing, due to the excessive costs involved. This meant that members of the public who submitted representations between the middle and end of September 2010, to the address energyconsents@scotland.gsi.gov.uk, or in writing, did not receive an acknowledgment.

  The address energyconsents@scotland.gsi.gov.uk is not invalid, members of the public were asked to direct representations to the dedicated email address dundeebiomass@scotland.gsi.gov.uk to allow easier collation of these responses and to ensure they received the automatic acknowledgement. All representations received to either address have now been collated and logged.

  There is no requirement under legislation to acknowledge, either in writing or electronically, representations received.

Police

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of drug gangs attempting to infiltrate Strathclyde Police, as reported in The Herald on 14 February 2011, what (a) plans it has to address such activity, (b) support it offers police forces and (c) suggestions it has received from chief constables.

Kenny MacAskill: The handling of matters relating to corruption within Scottish Police forces is the responsibility of individual chief constables.

  The Police (Conduct) (Scotland) Regulations 1996 allow police forces to impose a range of sanctions, including the option to dismiss officers who break the law or commit acts that breach the professional standards expected of a police officer.

Police

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the police grant-aided expenditure in Tayside has been in each of the last three years, also expressed in real terms.

Kenny MacAskill: The police grant-aided expenditure (GAE) figures for Tayside Police Board in cash and real terms are set out in the following table. GAE figures are used as part of the local government finance distribution formula and do not actual represent actual funding allocations.

  

£ million
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11


Tayside Police Board (cash)
86.324
85.647
89.922


Tayside Police Board (real terms at 2010-11 prices)
90.478
88.302
89.922



  Notes:

  1. The cash term figures are as published in the "Green Book" for Grant Aided Expenditure 2008-11 in March 2008 and do not take account of subsequent transfers of responsibility for Police ICT and pensions costs.

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/18209/200811Settlement/GreenBook2008-11.

  2. The real terms figures were calculated using the HM Treasury’s latest GDP Deflators dated 22 December 2010.

Post Office

Dave Thompson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for the operation of the Post Office Diversification Fund in 2011-12.

Jim Mather: Following a review of the 2010-11 process which included discussions with stakeholders, I can confirm that the £1 million 2011-12 fund will operate along similar lines. The only exception is that those post offices which received funds under the 2010-11 scheme will not be eligible to apply again. Application forms have been published online today and we will be contacting all eligible sub-postmasters to encourage them to apply. The closing date for applications will be 29 July 2011 and the successful applicants will be announced by 16 September 2011.

Prison Service

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it takes to ensure that all prisoners with a communication difficulty are assessed by a speech and language therapist.

Mr Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  If it is identified that an adult prisoner may need speech and language therapy as part of their case management or clinical care a referral for consideration can be made to the NHS board where the prison is located.

  The Scottish Prison Service has a contract with NHS Forth Valley for the provision of a speech and language therapist to assess and provide appropriate support for young offenders referred by staff in HMYOI’s Polmont and Cornton Vale.

  Speech and language therapy is only one possible means to support individuals with some forms of communication impairment and each prison provides a learning service which can also address speech and language difficulties.

Public Inquiries

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has a provisional date for the publication of the report of the Fingerprint Inquiry.

Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-35845 on 27 August 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

  The Chairman of the Inquiry, Sir Anthony Campbell is understood to be now preparing his final report but has not yet notified Ministers of the intended date of publication.

  On 6 March 2008 I wrote to Sir Anthony Campbell, stating:

  "I have also considered your comments about publication of the inquiry’s report. I agree that it would be appropriate and in keeping with the independence of the inquiry for the Chairman to have responsibility for arranging publication and I hereby notify you of that responsibility…"

  Publication is therefore the responsibility of the chairman, in terms of Section 25(2) of the Inquiries Act 2005.

Public Inquiries

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the report of the Fingerprint Inquiry can be published during the dissolution of the Parliament.

Kenny MacAskill: The publication of the final report of the Fingerprint Inquiry is not a matter for ministers, it is a matter for the inquiry chairman.

  However, should the chairman decide to publish during the dissolution of the Parliament, there is no impediment in law to the publication of the final report of the Fingerprint Inquiry in that period.

  Section 26 of the Inquiries Act 2005 requires the report to "be laid by the Minister, either at the time of publication or as soon afterwards as is reasonably practicable, before the relevant Parliament or Assembly."

  If the chairman decides that the report is to be published when the Parliament is dissolved, it could reasonably and practicably be laid before the Parliament when Parliament reconvened.

Regeneration

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been allocated from the Town Centre Regeneration Fund to North Ayrshire, broken down by town.

Alex Neil: Town Centre Regeneration Fund awards were made to the following towns in North Ayrshire:

  

Project Title
Project Lead
Award


Millport Town Centre Regeneration Business, Arts andd Culture
Cumbrae Community Development Company
£397,678.24


Ardrossan Key Buildings Regeneration Scheme
Irvine Bay Developments Ltd 
£800,000


Saltcoats Key Buildings Regeneration Scheme
Irvine Bay Developments Ltd
£650,000


Total 
 
£1,847,678.24

Renewable Energy

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the environmental factors identified in the strategic environmental assessment will be integrated into the National Renewables Infrastructure Plan.

Jim Mather: A strategic environmental assessment (SEA) of the National Renewables Infrastructure Plan (N-RIP) was undertaken, in accordance with the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005, and the Environmental Report was published for consultation in September 2010. The purpose of the SEA was to identify potential environmental effects and measures for their mitigation, and to ensure that this information is made available when decisions are made by site owners to progress individual sites contained within the N-RIP. In this way, it was considered that the SEA would assist site developers and investors by providing information about the potential environmental issues pertaining to the development of the individual sites, and how they can best be overcome.

Renewable Energy

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it encourages research into the environmental effects of offshore renewable energy developments.

Jim Mather: A considerable amount of work is currently being undertaken on the potential environmental effects of offshore wind, wave and tidal renewable energy in Scotland and across the UK.

  The Scottish Government is working with other regulators, scientific bodies and industry to deliver a co-ordinated environmental research and monitoring programme to tackle gaps in knowledge and facilitate the commissioning of research projects to inform the licensing process and ensure good environmental data is available to planners, regulators and developers.

  The current work programme consists of 19 ongoing research projects which are carried out by a range of organisations including Marine Scotland Science and research institutes. The total funding for these projects is £1.3 million, of which just over £1 million has been provided by the Scottish Government.

  The Scottish Government is working with the Natural Environment Research Council to develop a series of three new research projects which address aspects of the environmental interactions of marine renewable energy developments.

Renewable Energy

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Research Councils UK to encourage funding for research on the environmental effects of offshore renewable energy development.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government has not had any discussions with Research Councils UK on this matter, but has held discussions with the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) on research collaboration. Marine Scotland will be involved in the steering groups for a number of relevant projects.

Renewable Energy

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it (a) identifies and (b) delivers mitigation for adverse environmental effects of offshore renewable energy development.

Jim Mather: Mitigation can be identified at the strategic level through the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Habitats Regulations Appraisal (HRA) processes. The Scottish Government has undertaken a strategic SEA and HRA for offshore wind energy in Scottish Territorial Waters. An SEA for marine renewables (wave and tidal) was undertaken in 2007. Work is currently beginning on an Appraisal of Sustainability for marine renewables which will refresh the 2007 SEA and also include a strategic level HRA. Further detailed assessment and identification of appropriate mitigation measures for individual developments must be made at the project level.

  The Survey, Deploy and Monitor policy, which is currently being developed by Marine Scotland and SNH, will provide a pragmatic, risk based approach to allow the deployment of renewables and will be a key tool to facilitate the delivery of initial demonstration projects. In addition, research and the demonstration strategy are focused on tackling environmental issues.

  The licensing process delivers mitigation by ensuring that any licence issued for relevant activities has appropriate conditions. Any conditions put in place with regard to a licence would be enforced by Marine Scotland.

Renewable Energy

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will broaden the eligibility criteria for funding from the National Renewables Infrastructure Fund to allow applications from ports that are not involved in the manufacture of offshore renewable energy installations but wish to be involved in their servicing, maintenance and supply.

Jim Mather: Scottish Enterprise created the National Renewables Infrastructure Fund (N-RIF) to support, where necessary, development of port and near-port manufacturing locations for offshore wind turbines and related developments including test and demonstration activity, with the overall aim of stimulating an offshore wind supply chain in Scotland. This reflects the priorities highlighted in the National Renewable Infrastructure Plan and recognised the potential need for public funding to act as a catalyst in attracting vital capital investment to support these locations to attract major manufacturing projects. There is no intention at present to broaden the eligibility for funding from N-RIF.

  Scottish Enterprise is currently in discussion with a number of port and harbour bodies to assist them in identifying potential business opportunities in support of the operation and maintenance of future offshore energy developments. Servicing and maintenance operations are more likely to require to be located close to the operating site for logistical reasons. This would not rule out support where a strong case can be made for other forms of public intervention.

Renewable Energy

Elizabeth Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what its best estimate is of the average carbon payback time for a wind farm development replacing forestry that has been clear felled.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government strongly encourages wind farm developers to use the guidance and calculator provided by the publication Calculating carbon savings from wind farms on Scottish peat lands - A New Approach to estimate carbon payback time when submitting applications for developments on peat lands. Where the application is for over 50 MW the consent of the Scottish Ministers is required. This publication is available from the Scottish Government website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/06/25114657/0 .

  Improvements to the calculator are currently being carried out to factor in impacts on forestry, which will allow developers to estimate carbon payback time. The effects of clear felling on payback time will depend on a number of factors including the characteristics of the model of wind turbine and the surrounding forestry, and the nature and extent of any replanting of felled forestry which may be planned. It is anticipated that an improved calculator will be published in May.

  Where woodland removal is proposed the Scottish Government’s second National Planning Framework (NPF2) and Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) state a presumption in favour of protecting woodland resources. The SPP states "Woodland removal should only be allowed where it would achieve significant and clearly defined additional public benefits. In appropriate cases compensatory planting may form part of the balance. The criteria for determining the acceptability of woodland removal and further information on the implementation of the policy is explained in the Control of Woodland Removal Policy." This policy, and associated guidance, are publicly available from http://www.forestry.gov.uk/woodlandremoval.

Renewable Energy

Elizabeth Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what estimated minimum distance is needed between a standard wind turbine and surrounding forestry, taking into account turbulence and required wind speeds.

Roseanna Cunningham: The separation between wind turbines and trees depends on many factors, including local topography; the ambient wind regime; the size and type of turbines, and the height and species of tree - as such there is no standard distance. It has been amply demonstrated that turbines can successfully be installed in Scottish forests with minimum disruption and with enhancement of habitats such as at Whitelee near Glasgow.

Renewable Energy

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what studies it has undertaken to review the impact that on-shore wind farms have on tourism.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government has published The Economic Impacts of Wind Farms on Scottish Tourism at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/03/07113554/0.

  A key finding of the report is that wind farms and tourism can be compatible where wind farms are well sited.

Roads

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the timescale is for the upgrading of the Dalry bypass.

Keith Brown: This project, which is included within Intervention 22 of the Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR(, will require many stages to be undertaken, including detailed design and development work before we can finalise the timescales for delivery.

  A timetable for delivering the Dalry bypass will be set in the context of overall affordability and our commitments to other STPR proposals.

Roads

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the budget is for the upgrading of the Dalry bypass.

Keith Brown: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-20652 on 24 February 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Roads

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to concerns regarding the condition of the A83 road in Kintyre.

Keith Brown: Acting on behalf of Scottish Ministers, Transport Scotland contracts Operating Companies to carry out management, maintenance and repairs to the trunk road network, with routine day-to-day inspections to establish sections most in need of repair. Any remedial action required in respect of the trunk road section of the A83 within Kintyre will be addressed as part of those existing procedures.

  The non trunk road section of the A83 in Kintyre from Kennacraig to Campbeltown is the responsibility of Argyll and Bute Council.

Roads

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to extend trunk road status to the Kennacraig to Campbeltown section of the A83.

Keith Brown: Scottish Ministers keep the trunk road network under continual review. There are no plans to trunk the A83 road between Kennacraig and Campbeltown.

Roads

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to the M77 hard shoulder running project report.

Keith Brown: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-39794 on 10 March 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Roads

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Transport Scotland will continue to be liable for the agent’s fees for individuals who had to employ agents to deal with the sale of land in connection with the proposed improvements to the A75 from Hardgrove to Kinmount.

Keith Brown: Once a decision is taken to acquire the land then Transport Scotland will pay agent’s negotiating fees, as recommended by the District Valuer, on acquisition of the land required for the Scheme.

Scots Language

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has provided any (a) agencies, (b) organisations and (c) public bodies or services with (i) books and (ii) literature on old Scots dialect and, if so, what the cost was.

Fiona Hyslop: We have not provided books or literature on Old Scots dialect to any agencies, organisations, public bodies or services.

Scots Language

Bill Wilson (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will make representations to the UK Government regarding the Council of Europe’s Charter for Regional and Minority Languages and agreement of part III undertakings for the Scots language and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.

Fiona Hyslop: At this time we have no plans to extend Part III coverage to the Scots language.

  There is still some work to do to fully meet the Part II provisions and it is fitting that we complete this work before considering the requirements of the Part III provisions in respect of Scots.

Scottish Government Expenditure

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) agencies, (b) organisations and (c) public bodies and services it has provided with Saltire badges in each of the last four years and what the cost was.

Fiona Hyslop: The Saltire is Scotland’s national flag and is one of the most recognisable symbols of Scotland, encouraging a sense of pride amongst Scots. Under both this and the previous administration, the Scottish Government uses the Saltire to promote and advocate Scotland and its interests in Europe and the wider world.

  We are unable to breakdown the agencies, organisations, public bodies and services provided with Saltire pin badges because this could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Scottish Water

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what income it expects will be made from developments on land owned by Scottish Water.

Jim Mather: This information is not held centrally and I have asked the Chief Executive of Scottish Water to reply to the member.

Small Businesses

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the likely impact of the European Union’s policy framework, The Small Business Act, on small and medium-sized enterprises.

Mr Jim Mather: The Scottish Government is fully supportive of the EU Small Business Act, which complements our Government Economic Strategy and Purpose. The Scottish Government welcomes the European Commission’s intention to review the Small Business Act as a helpful opportunity to examine progress made to embed the principles and implement its specific measures.

  While we have not undertaken any formal evaluation or assessment to quantify the cumulative impact of the range of measures under the Small Business Act, it is important to identity what more needs to be done to ensure momentum is maintained to further improve the EU business environment for SMEs. We will take account of any new ideas or approaches that emerge in due course from the review.

Social Care

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the social care budget has been spent on (a) children’s, (b) older people’s and (c) disability services in each year since 2007-08, also broken down by local authority

Shona Robison: Copies of social work net expenditure 2007-08 – 2009-10 are available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 52531), providing the requested breakdown. This information shows a net increase each year, in each client group.

Tourism

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding increasing the level of consumer financial protection available to holidaymakers from Scotland who might be affected by travel companies entering administration.

Keith Brown: Following the collapse of Flyglobespan, we wrote to the former Secretary of State for Transport about Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing (ATOL). We stressed the need for more formal arrangements to ensure that all passengers should be adequately protected against airline failure and that provision should be made for repatriation in such circumstances.

Transport

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has undertaken research on the methods used by private car park operators when seeking payment of fines.

Keith Brown: No.

Transport

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the UK Government on the methods used by private car park operators when seeking payment of fines.

Keith Brown: We have exchanged information with the UK Government about the way in which the law on parking operates but we have not proposed any changes to the way in which the law in this area operates in Scotland.

Transport

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to regulating the methods used by private car park operators when seeking payment of fines.

Keith Brown: This is primarily a matter of contractual law and civil enforcement between those who own and those who use such private car parks. There is also significant case law that applies in Scotland. For example, the High Court concluded in 1992 that wheel clamping on private land amounted to theft and that the demand for payment of a release fee amounted to extortion. We therefore have no plans for further regulation.

Transport

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities operate a decriminalised parking enforcement regime.

Keith Brown: Seven local authorities have decriminalised parking offences. Decriminalised parking enforcement (DPE) was introduced in the City of Edinburgh, Glasgow City Council, Perth and Kinross Council, Aberdeen City Council, Dundee City Council, South Lanarkshire Council and Renfrewshire Council.

Transport

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions it has had with local authorities wishing to decriminalise parking enforcement.

Keith Brown: The Scottish Government has had no recent discussions with local authorities wishing to decriminalise parking enforcement (DPE) since Renfrewshire Council enforced DPE in April 2010.

Transport

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many car owners there have been in Coatbridge and Chryston constituency in each year since 1999

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many car owners there have been in each year since 1999.

Keith Brown: As a reserved matter, this information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government but collected by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).

Voluntary Sector

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people work in the third sector and what percentage is (a) male and (b) female.

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the median gross weekly pay is for third sector employees, also broken down by gender.

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of female employees in the third sector is in a managerial position.

Jim Mather: This is a matter for third sector organisations. The information requested is not held centrally.

Young People

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to explore ways to establish a youth microcredit scheme.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government is very supportive of the Prince’s Scottish Youth Business Trust’s (PSYBT) Revolving Loan Fund. This provides young people with access to loans of up to £5,000 to set up in business and offers a valuable aftercare service to successful applicants from a large number of volunteer business people across Scotland. PSYBT is particularly concerned with creating opportunities for disadvantaged young people. In 2009-10 and 2010-11, the Scottish Government, through Scottish Enterprise, enhanced the resources available to PSYBT by investing £200,000 per annum in the Revolving Loan Fund. It has also recently successfully secured ERDF to provide a tailored package of coaching and mentoring assistance to 1,700 young people over the next three years.

Young People

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what stakeholders it has met to discuss ways to establish a youth microcredit scheme.

Jim Mather: Under the auspices of Financial Services Advisory Board (FISAB), work has already been undertaken, including desk based research and consultation with a number of key stakeholders, looking at the microcredit market in Scotland and considering whether gaps exist. With regard to youth microcredit, the Prince’s Scottish Youth Business Trust (PSYBT) is seen as the main provider of support to young people and there is currently no evidence to suggest further provision is necessary.